AUTHOR=Li Shijie , Hu Shiwei , Jiang Wei , Liu Yu , Liu Yanping , Zhou Yingtang , Mo Liuye , Liu Jianshe 

TITLE=Ag3VO4 Nanoparticles Decorated Bi2O2CO3 Micro-Flowers: An Efficient Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalyst for the Removal of Toxic Contaminants

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2018.00255

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2018.00255

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p>Semiconductor-based photocatalysis is of great potential for tackling the environmental pollution. Herein, a novel hierarchical heterostructure of Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> micro-flowers <italic>in-situ</italic> decorated with Ag<sub>3</sub>VO<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles was developed by a facile method. Various characterization techniques have been employed to study the physical and chemical property of the novel catalyst. The novel catalyst was utilized for the photocatalytic removal of industrial dyes (rhodamine B, methyl orange) and tetracycline antibiotic under visible-light irradiation. The results indicated that Ag<sub>3</sub>VO<sub>4</sub>/Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> heterojunctions showed a remarkably enhanced activity, significantly higher than those of bare Ag<sub>3</sub>VO<sub>4</sub>, Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>, and the physical mixture of Ag<sub>3</sub>VO<sub>4</sub> and Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> samples. This could be ascribed to an enhanced visible-light harvesting capacity and effective separation of charge carriers by virtue of the construction of hierarchical Ag<sub>3</sub>VO<sub>4</sub>/Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> heterojunction. Moreover, Ag<sub>3</sub>VO<sub>4</sub>/Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> also possesses an excellent cycling stability. The outstanding performance of Ag<sub>3</sub>VO<sub>4</sub>/Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> in removal of toxic pollutants indicates the potential of Ag<sub>3</sub>VO<sub>4</sub>/Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> in real environmental remediation.</p><p><bold>Highlights</bold><list list-type="bullet"><list-item><p>Novel architectures of Ag<sub>3</sub>VO<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles modified Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> micro-flowers were constructed.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Novel Ag<sub>3</sub>VO<sub>4</sub>/Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity and stability.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Ag<sub>3</sub>VO<sub>4</sub>/Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> heterojunctions significantly promote the charge separation.</p></list-item></list></p>